U.S. patent number 6,167,762 [Application Number 09/221,126] was granted by the patent office on 2001-01-02 for rail-mounted fluid-pressure indicating apparatus.
This patent grant is currently assigned to SMC Corporation. Invention is credited to Shinji Miyazoe.
United States Patent |
6,167,762 |
Miyazoe |
January 2, 2001 |
Rail-mounted fluid-pressure indicating apparatus
Abstract
The present invention provides a fluid-pressure indicating
apparatus including a mounting mechanism with a lock mechanism
which can be simply removed from a rail when used alone but which
cannot be removed from the rail when coupled to adjacent
apparatuses. To achieve this, an elastic piece 18, which defines
the depth of one 17a of two recessed portions 17a and 17b formed in
the groove walls of a rail mounting groove, is provided on the side
of the first recessed portion 17a in such a way as to be
elastically shifted, and a stopper 19, which engages the elastic
piece of the adjacent fluid-pressure indicating apparatus so as to
regulate its shifting when the apparatus is coupled to this
adjacent fluid-pressure indicating apparatus, is also provided on
the side of the first recessed portion.
Inventors: |
Miyazoe; Shinji (Ibaraki,
JP) |
Assignee: |
SMC Corporation (Tokyo,
JP)
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Family
ID: |
11796723 |
Appl.
No.: |
09/221,126 |
Filed: |
December 28, 1998 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
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Jan 6, 1998 [JP] |
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10-012121 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
73/756 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01L
19/0007 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G01L
19/00 (20060101); G01L 007/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;73/756,146,865.8,121,714 ;137/271,343,884 ;251/367 ;188/26R
;105/77 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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0 703 391 |
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Mar 1996 |
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EP |
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8-2536 |
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Jan 1996 |
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JP |
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Primary Examiner: Oen; William
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier
& Neustadt, P.C.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A fluid-pressure indicating apparatus that is mounted on a rail
including on the respective axial sides, locking flanges extending
outward, wherein:
the apparatus has a mounting groove in which said rail is fitted,
wherein a first and a second recessed portions in which locking
flanges of a rail are fitted and locked are formed on the opposed
groove walls of the mounting groove, wherein an elastic piece that
defines the depth of said first recessed portion is provided on the
first recessed portion side in such a way as to be elastically
shifted when abutted on by said flange, and wherein a stopper that
engages the elastic piece of the adjacent fluid-pressure indicating
apparatus to regulate its shifting when the apparatus is joined
with this adjacent fluid-pressure indicating apparatus is also
provided on the first recessed portion side.
2. A fluid-pressure indicating apparatus according to claim 1
wherein a hollow space is formed in one of the sides of the
fluid-pressure indicating apparatus, said elastic piece being
mounted in the hollow space, and said stopper being provided on the
other side in such away as to protrude outward.
3. A fluid-pressure indicating apparatus according to claim 1
wherein said elastic piece has a mounting portion that is mounted
in said hollow space, wherein said elastic piece extends from the
mounting portion so as to be elastically deformed and is located
across said first recessed portion, and wherein a space into which
said stopper is inserted is formed behind the elastic piece.
4. A fluid-pressure indicating apparatus according to any of claims
1 to 3 wherein said mounting groove, two recessed portions, and
stopper are directly formed in the body of the fluid-pressure
indicating apparatus, with said separately configured elastic
portion assembled with these components.
5. A fluid-pressure indicating apparatus according to any of claims
1 to 3 wherein a rail fixture that is separate from the body of the
fluid-pressure indicating apparatus is mounted on the body, and
wherein said mounting groove, two recessed portions, elastic piece,
and stopper are provided in the fixture.
6. A fluid-pressure indicating apparatus according to claim 5
wherein either said elastic piece or stopper is integrated with the
rail fixture.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a fluid-pressure indicating
apparatus that is mounted on a rail, and in particular, to a
fluid-pressure indicating apparatus including a mounting mechanism
with a lock function for preventing the apparatus from slipping out
from the rail when it does not need to be removed therefrom.
PRIOR ART
There are well-known techniques for mounting a plurality of control
valves on a rail directly or via manifolds in order to control
these valves collectively.
For example, Japanese Patent Publication NO. 8-2536 discloses a
mounting mechanism conventionally used to mount fluid-pressure
indicating apparatuses, such as directional control valves or
manifolds, onto a rail. In this mounting mechanism, a mounting
groove 4 in which a rail 3 is fitted is provided at the bottom
surface of the body 2 of a directional control valve 1. On one side
of the walls of the mounting groove 4, a recessed portion 5 is
formed in which one (3a) of the flanges of the rail 3 is fitted and
locked, and an elastic locking piece 6 including a jaw portion 6a
with which the other flange 3b is engaged is provided on the other
side wall, as shown in FIG. 7.
The directional control valve 1, mentioned above, is mounted on the
rail 3 by fitting one (3a) of the flanges of the rail 3 in the
recessed portion 5, and then pressing the rail 3 into the mounting
groove 4 while allowing the other flange 3b to elastically deform
the elastic locking piece 6, thereby engaging the flange 3b with
the jaw portion 6a of the elastic locking piece 6. Conversely, the
directional control valve 1 is removed from the rail 3 by
elastically deforming the elastic locking piece 6 to remove one
(3b) of the flanges from the jaw portion 6a, and then pulling the
other flange 3a out from the recessed portion 5.
Such a mounting mechanism has the advantage of enabling the
directional control valve 1 to be mounted on the rail 3 at an
arbitrary position and to be removed therefrom; the mechanism even
enables a directional control valve located in the middle of a
plurality of directional control valves to be simply detached
therefrom.
This mechanism has no problems under normal operating conditions,
but if an unexpected force is applied to the directional control
valve via a pipe connected to the valve in such a way that the
valve is pulled off from the rail, the valve may slip out from the
rail. Thus, when the directional control valve does not need to be
removed from the rail, it must be prevented from slipping out
accidentally.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
It is a technical object of this invention to provide a
fluid-pressure indicating apparatus including a mounting mechanism
with a lock mechanism which can be simply removed from a rail when
used alone but which cannot be removed from the rail when coupled
to adjacent apparatuses.
To achieve this object, a fluid-pressure indicating apparatus
according to this invention is characterized in that a first and a
second recessed portions in which locking flanges on the respective
sides of a rail are fitted and engaged are formed in the opposed
groove walls of a rail mounting groove. An elastic piece that
defines the depth of the first recessed portion is provided on the
first recessed portion side in such a way as to be elastically
shifted. A stopper that engages the elastic piece of the adjacent
fluid-pressure indicating apparatus to regulate its shifting when
the apparatus is coupled to this adjacent fluid-pressure indicating
apparatus is also provided on the first recessed portion side.
The fluid-pressure indicating apparatus of this configuration is
mounted on the rail by fitting one of the flanges of the rail in
the first recessed portion 1 of the mounting groove, allowing the
flange to press the elastic piece so that the rail moves toward the
first recessed portion, fitting the rail in the mounting groove,
and then moving it in the horizontal direction toward the second
recessed portion so that the other flange is engaged in the second
recessed portion. On the other hand, the fluid-pressure indicating
apparatus can be removed from the rail by performing the same
operations in the reverse order.
When a number of fluid-pressure indicating apparatuses are mounted
on the rail and adjacent apparatuses are coupled together, the
stopper of one fluid-pressure indicating apparatus engages and
locks with the elastic piece of the adjacent apparatus to regulate
its shifting. In this way, the lock function acts on the adjacent
fluid-pressure indicating apparatus to prevent it from being
removed from the rail. This prevents the fluid-pressure indicating
apparatus from slipping out from the rail even if a large external
force is applied to the apparatus via a pipe.
According to a specific configuration, the elastic piece is mounted
in a hollow space formed on one of the sides of the fluid-pressure
indicating apparatus, and the stopper is provided on the other side
in such away as to protrude outward.
According to a preferred embodiment, the elastic piece extends from
a place for mounting and fixing a stopper so as to be elastically
deformed, and a space into which the stopper is inserted is formed
behind the elastic piece.
According to one embodiment of this invention, the mounting groove,
two recessed portions, and a stopper are directly formed in the
body of the fluid-pressure indicating apparatus.
According to another embodiment of this invention, a rail fixture
that is separate from the body of the fluid-pressure indicating
apparatus is mounted on the body, and the mounting groove, two
recessed portions, and stopper are provided in the fixture. In this
case, at least one of the elastic piece and stopper can be
integrated with the rail fixture.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a
fluid-pressure indicating apparatus according to this
invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing several members disassembled
from the fluid-pressure indicating apparatus in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3A is an enlarged view of the part of the fluid-pressure
indicating apparatus and FIG. 3B is an enlarged front view of an
elastic piece.
FIG. 4 is a side view of the fluid-pressure indicating apparatus
before it is completely mounted on a rail.
FIG. 5 is a side view of the fluid-pressure indicating apparatus
after it is mounted on the rail.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of a
fluid-pressure indicating apparatus according to this
invention.
FIG. 7 is a side view showing how a conventional fluid-pressure
indicating apparatus is mounted.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIGS. 1 to 5 show a first embodiment of this invention. In FIG. 1,
10 is a directional control valve (in other words, a kind of
fluid-pressure indicating apparatus), and 11 is a rail on which a
number of directional control valves 10 are mounted together.
The rail 11 has a groove-shaped cross section, and has locking
flanges 11a and 11b formed at the respective upper ends of its
opposite groove walls and extending outward.
The directional control valve 10 is a solenoid pilot-operated
directional control valve comprising a main valve section 10a for
switching the direction of the flow of a working fluid such as
compressed air and a solenoid-operated pilot valve section 10a for
driving the main valve section 10a.
The body 13 of the main valve section 10a is rectangular and has
one supply through-hole P and two ejection through-holes R, R so
that the working fluid is supplied and ejected from the valve
mechanism through these through-holes and so that the fluid is then
output through two output ports A and B formed in the top surface
of the body 13. When a number of directional control valves 10 are
mounted on the rail 11 and coupled together, the through-holes P
and R, R in the directional control valve 10 communicate with the
through-holes P and R, R in the adjacent directional control valve
10 via a short pipe 14, and the working fluid is concurrently
supplied to and ejected from the directional control valves 10
through a supply and ejection block (not shown), which includes a
supply port and an ejection port.
A mounting mechanism 15 for mounting the directional control valve
on the rail 11 is formed on the bottom surface of the body 13. The
mounting mechanism 15 has a mounting groove 16 in which the rail 11
is fitted, and a first and a second recessed portions 17a, 17b in
which the flanges 11a, 11b of the rail 11 are fitted and locked are
formed in the laterally opposed groove walls of the mounting groove
16. An elastic piece 18 that defines the depth of the first
recessed portion 17a is provided on the body portion on the side of
the first recessed portion 17a so as to be elastically shifted when
abutted on by the flange 11a. A stopper 19 is also provided on the
body portion on the side of the first recessed portion so that when
the directional control valve is joined with the adjacent
directional control valve, it engages the elastic piece 18 of the
adjacent valve to regulate its shifting.
As seen in FIGS. 2, 3A, and 3B, the elastic piece 18 is mounted in
a hollow space 20 formed in one (a joint surface) of the sides of
the body 13.
The hollow space 20 is shaped like a rectangle and formed so that
its inner end, which extends to the mounting groove 16, overlaps
the first recessed portion 17a, and this inner end is open and is
in communication with the mounting groove 16.
The elastic piece 18 has a mounting portion 18a that is fixed in
the hollow space 20 using a screw 22 or another appropriate means.
The elastic piece 18 extends from one end of the mounting portion
18a so as to be elastically formed, and is located on the side of
the inner end of the hollow space 20 across the first recessed
portion 17a. A space 23 into which a stopper 19 is inserted is
formed behind the elastic piece 18. The elastic piece 18 is formed
of an elastic material such as synthetic resin, rubber, or
metal.
The means for fixing the mounting portion 18a in the hollow space
20b includes not only the screw 22 but also adhesion,
press-fitting, and locking.
In addition, the stopper 19 is formed on the side of the body that
is opposite to the side on which the elastic portion peace 18 is
provided and at a position corresponding to the insertion space 23.
The stopper is formed in such a way as to protrude outward. The
stopper 19 may be integrated with the body 13 or may have another
part mounted thereon.
The directional control valve 10 of this configuration is mounted
on the rail 11 by fitting the first flange 11a of the rail 11 in
the first recessed portion 17a of the mounting groove 16, allowing
the first flange 11a to press and shift the elastic piece 18 so
that the rail 11 moves toward the first recessed portion 17a, and
fitting the rail 11 in the mounting groove 16, as shown in FIG. 4.
Then, when the rail 11 is moved horizontally toward the second
recessed portion 17b to allow the second flange 11b to be fitted in
the second recessed portion 17b, the elastic piece 18 returns to
allow the flanges 11a and 11b to keep the rail 11 fitted in the
recessed portions 17a and 17b, thereby allowing the directional
control valve 10 to be mounted on the rail 10.
The directional control valve 10 may be removed from the rail 11 by
performing the same operations in the reverse order.
When a plurality of directional control valves are mounted on the
rail 11 and adjacent apparatuses are coupled together, the stopper
of one directional control valve 10 is fitted in the insertion
space 23 and locked behind the elastic piece 18 of the adjacent
valve to regulate its shifting, thereby preventing the rail 11 from
being moved to the first recessed portion 17a side. Consequently,
the directional control valve 10 cannot be removed from the rail
11. This configuration prevents the directional control 10 valve
from slipping out from the rail 11 even if a large external force
is applied to the valve 10 via the pipe connected to the output
port.
To remove one of the assembled directional control valves 10 from
the rail 11, that directional control valve may be disconnected
from the adjacent valves and the elastic piece 18 may be released
from the stopper 19.
FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of this invention. In a
directional control valve 10A according to the second invention, a
mounting mechanism 15 is formed by providing on the bottom surface
of the body 13 a rail fixture 25 formed separately from the body
13. In the fixture 25, the mounting groove, two recessed portions
17a and 17b, elastic piece 18, and a stopper 19 are provided.
The fixture 25 is formed of a material such as synthetic resin or
metal having a sufficient strength for such a fixture, and is
mounted on the body using an appropriate means such as a screw. The
form in which the mounting mechanism 15 is installed on the fixture
25 is substantially the same as the form in which the mounting
mechanism is directly installed on the body 13 of the directional
control valve 10.
If the fixture 25 is formed of a synthetic resin, either the
elastic piece 18 or the stopper 19 should be integrated with
it.
Although the above embodiments show the directional control valve
as an example of a fluid-pressure indicating apparatus, this
invention is of course applicable to other fluid-pressure
indicating apparatuses such as manifolds.
As described above, according to this invention, when a single
fluid-pressure indicating apparatus is removed from the rail for
maintenance or the like, the lock function is canceled to allow
this apparatus to be removed easily, whereas if adjacent
fluid-pressure indicating apparatuses are coupled together, the
lock function is automatically activated to prevent the apparatuses
from being removed from the rail. This configuration prevents the
fluid-pressure indicating apparatus from slipping out from the rail
even if a large external force is applied to the apparatus via a
pipe. As a result, this apparatus can be used over a wide pressure
range, and can be handled safely and easily during pipe-laying
work.
* * * * *